Reading that list made me think of
spiritual lies that we tell ourselves. Jesus
wants us to know the truth, just like He wanted the people in His own day to
know it.

The first lie we tell ourselves
is that we’re free. Yes, in this
country we have certain political freedoms, but we like to tell ourselves that
we are free to our very core. The truth
is that everybody is going to serve a master.
Either you’re going to serve sin as its slave, or you’re going to become
a servant God—set free from sin so you can live as a child of God, as a member
of God’s family. John 8:33-36 says:

“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been
slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of
sin.A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a
son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets
you free, you are truly free.

The second lie we tell ourselves as
Americans and as Christians is that we can fall back on our heritage. A lot of people think that God is impressed by
the lineage we carry from pious ancestors.
The truth is that God isn’t impressed by us at all—and that what God wants
is people who claim Him as their spiritual Father. In verses 8:39-41a, Jesus refutes the
people’s claim that they are special because of their parentage:

“Our
father is Abraham!” they declared.

“No,” Jesus
replied, “for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow
his example. Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the
truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No,
you are imitating your real father.”

This leads us to the third lie, that you
can claim God as your Father if you have no love. A child who is adopted from an abusive
home into a loving family needs to choose which set of values they are going to
adopt for themselves. Will they behave
like their first father or their second?
In verses 41b-47, Jesus tells them that their true Father is the one
that they learn to act like.

Jesus
told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you
from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying?
It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father
the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from
the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the
father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin?
And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to
the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”

There
are many people who claim to be Christians, yet they have no love for Christ at
all. Jesus knows that they have no love
for Him because they have no love for their fellow human beings (Matthew 25:40,
45). People like this may put on a good
religious show, but God will easily judge between those who follow Him and
those who don’t.

The Fourth Lie is that we can be the judge. Like self-righteous people of Jesus’ day,
many Christians believe that they can judge others’ behavior based on their own
limited understanding. People like this
wouldn’t recognize a true move of God if it were right before their eyes. In verses 48 and 52, the “righteous” people
declare that Jesus is a “Samaritan
devil,” and twice they say that He has a demon. In verse 53, they ask Him, “Who do you think you are?” In verse 59, they pick up stones to throw at
Him. But Jesus says, “No…I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me.
And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is
the true judge (vv. 49-50).” No, instead Jesus tells us not to judge
(Matthew 7:1-3), and says that even He will not be the judge (John 12:47-48).”

It
seems that many American Christians these days have bought into a pack of
lies. We celebrate and congratulate
ourselves for our freedom, when Jesus says we’re really not free if we’re
slaves to sin. We think that heritage is
worth something, Jesus says it’s worthless if we think we can rely on our
ancestors’ relationship with God. We
believe that being a Christian is a matter of affiliation with an organization
or adhering to certain doctrines, but Jesus says those things are worthless
without love. We smugly judge those who
don’t live up to our standards, but Jesus says that God is the judge and we are
not. In fact, Christians who believe
these lies aren’t really believers at all.
Jesus’ standard is found in John 8:31-32: “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my
teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” I pray that you’ll not just call yourself a
Christian, but that you’ll walk in Jesus’ truth and love today.

2 comments:

No one says that its easy to follow Christ (or at least I've never been told that). I have, however, been told that all it takes is a true desire to do so. I have a very hard time believing this because I have truly desired it since a very young age and still I feel that I have no real personal relationship with Jesus. Unfortunately, I also have not seen a significant decrease in my sinful behavior. (Trust me, my desire to do right and good things is strong.) Every time I have truly immersed myself in God's Word almost immediately things start to go horribly wrong in my life. I have often heard that people pull closer to God in times of trouble but, that has not been my experience. I really truly want to follow Jesus and be as much like him as possible. Do you have any suggestions that might help me to do so?

Thanks for your comment, Amber. You're right--the Christian life is always a struggle. Even the apostle Paul wrestled with it. In Romans 7:21-25a (NLT), he says, "21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." I find that the more I focus on stopping sinful behavior, the more focused on sinful behavior I become. But the more I focus on just falling in love with Jesus, the more straightened out my life becomes. In other words, it's not about pleasing God by refraining from sin. It's about getting to know God more--and then the sinful behavior takes care of itself, the closer to God I get. Religion is a list of do's and don't's, but relationship with Jesus does a far better job at making us true Christ-followers. I'd love to have a longer conversation with you, outside of the comments section of this blog. Contact me directly at revgregsmith@gmail.com, and we can continue our discussion.

Why Is My Blog Called "Love the Word?"

So I was finally convinced to move into the 21st century and start a blog. What to name it?I've never liked those corny preacher-related email addresses like praisethelordimsavedandpreachingforjesus@hotmail.com. (My apologies if that's a real email address.) They seem disingenuous (isn't that a great word? According to the rhymezone.com dictionary it means "not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness.) I'd rather have a title for my blog that says what it is, and means it.

Then it hit me. "Love The Word." What could be more authentic, bona fide, genuine, literal, real, sincere, true, unveigned, unquestionable, and veritable than that?

I Love The Word.This can mean more than one thing, of course.

The Book of John, chapter 1 (NLT) says of Jesus:1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. So it's quite obvious, isn't it? I love The Word--Jesus Himself, without whom there would be no you, no me, no blog for that matter.

But my blog title means something else as well. I love the word. My kids call me a 'word nerd.' I love words. I love what you can do with them--the impact they can make on people's lives. I love the history of words, both in English and in the other languages I've studied (Latin, Spanish, Greek). As a pastor, I use words as I preach every week, to try to impart the truth of The Word--Jesus. As a writer, I use words to share ideas, entertain, and inspire. So, as a typical 'word nerd' I had to come up with a blog title that truly embodied my affinity for both the Logos and the phrase.

On this blog you'll find my random thoughts. You'll also find a link to "Spirit and Truth," a weekly column I write for the southern Virginia newspaper, The Southside Messenger. In addition, you're likely to find various musings on some of my favorite topics including writing, family, the Christian life, and more. Thanks for stopping in. My hope is that you'll love the word as much as I do.

This Day in History

About Me

I am the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Scottsburg, Virginia, and have been in ministry over half my life.
I have been published in several newspapers, and write a weekly column entitled "Spirit and Truth" in The Southside Messenger, which has a circulation in southside Virginia.
I have four beautiful children and three wonderful grandbabies, some of whom live with me.